Avalanche beat Islanders on Evan Rodrigues’ shootout goal

The Avalanche’s season series with the Islanders was a story of opposites.

Last year’s Avalanche team would have preferred the type of game that transpired during the first meeting — an unpredictable affair in Long Island, where a three-goal lead wasn’t safe — but this current iteration seems plenty comfortable in lower-scoring nail-biters.

After 65 minutes without a goal, the Avalanche beat the Islanders in a shootout Monday night, completing a split of the regular-season matchups. In the first installment, Colorado blew a 3-0 lead in a 5-4 loss. This time, Evan Rodrigues scored the lone shootout goal and Alexandar Georgiev kept the Islanders from scoring on all three attempts.

The Avs (16-11-2) have outshot their last three opponents a combined 117-73 after finishing with a 46-26 advantage over New York.

Rodrigues has contributed key moments in all three games since returning from an injury: a goal in his first game back, an assist on the game-winning goal in his second and now a double fake-out move to beat the unflappable Sorokin.

Neither team exactly barraged the opposing goalie with consistent high-danger chances for the first half of the game. But the Avalanche grasped control of the game throughout the second period, outshooting New York 15-5 during an 18-minute stretch with a trio of close misses.

Artturi Lehkonen doinked one off the crossbar during an Avalanche power play. Ben Meyers, playing excellently in the last seven games since his call-up, deflected a shot across the crease and toward a wide-open far post — but it shaved the outside of the pipe. Then a Sam Girard shot was barely saved by the outstretched left blocker of Sorokin, who had an extraordinary night.